Arizona Treks

On March 28, Rod and I took a trip to one of my favorite places.  It has been a few years since I have ben there and have never been very happy with the photographs taken there.   This place is called Perry Mesa and is part of the Agua Fria National Monument.  Information on the web is scarce and that is a good thing because it is remote and the potential for more vandalism is great.  There are many archeological sites mostly along the rim.  Several of them have some very well preserved petroglyphs.

I first discovered this place before it was declared a national monument.  The first ruin site we visited I fell in love with the place.  The pot sherds that littered the area, the debris from making tools, the artifacts which are lying about all grabbed my interest.  Then when we went to a site with petroglyphs, it was a done deal, Perry Mesa was a part of my life.  I treasure the place and consider it to be a wonderful place to visit.

We have seen antelope, deer, coyote, rabbits, there.  At one time there were many cattle there but we have seen none there for quite some time.

I learned to shoot the petroglyphs this time.  An orange filter worked great on all but if they are in the sun, add a polarizer to it.

Most od the petroglyphs are on the highest cliffs, just below the ruins.  You can find a path down and then walk along viewing the petroglyphs which are all over the rocks.  One site has a petroglyph of a duck, another has some that still have red coloring in them.

If you go, have a good 4X4 high clearance vehicle.  The roads have deteriorated a lot since my last trip.

Living in the cracks in the cliffs are many plants, hedgehog cactus is common there.  This one was hiding in a corner, I almost missed it as I was walking and looking for petroglyphs.

Friday March 19, 2010

Afternoon

The clouds cooperated and we had the tour with the guide.   We went up Canyon del Muerto rather than Canyon de Chelly.  It was nice and there were several ruins that had good light.  I only shot 8X10 and exposed 8 sheet of film.  Mostly I was shooting for a high contrast to use with alt processes.  

When we got out of the canyon the wind was so high it was difficult walking into the wind, especially carrying the large camera cases.  It took an hour or so for it to subside somewhat but there was a stiff breeze until about 9:00 PM. 

Friday March 19, 2010

Last night was a warm night.  The thermostat was set on 60 and I only heard it running twice.  Most other nights it would run 8 or more times.  This was a warning and coupled with low light in the trailer at7AM was a good sign there was only flat light.  So we met the guide at the visitor center and rescheduled.  First we set it for 9AM tomorrow then 12:30 this afternoon.  We changed to this afternoon because it appeared there was clearing to the West and I was willing to take a chance on the light as opposed to leaving on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.  With the 8X10 thrown into the mix developing film will probably take 3 - 4 days.  And coupled with the way I am scanning it now, it may take a couple of weeks to get it all scanned.

We took a drive up to Mummy Cave Overlook and I made a couple of negatives there.  The light was on the ricks outside the cave but not inside yet.  This was a bit of an experiment but I think it will not work well so we are planning to head over there this afternoon after the tour, or worst case,

Note

The light here was poor with the ruins in shadow so I am not pleased with the result.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate for returning to shoot it wile it had good light.  Perhaps another time we can return and shoot it in better conditions.

 I wrote about the trio to Mesa Verde previously and do not have a great deal to add now.  I would would love to go there again and spend a couple of days exploring and shooting.  Er were unfortunately pressed for time but I was seriously intrigued here.  Unfortunately, several of the negative were ruined due to my mis-handling of the wet film.  I am working with a different film for making alternative process prints and the wet emulsion is very delicate.  It will actually require a different type of film drier.  But that is for another post.